Yes, there had been some turn arounds with regards to the Dalai Lama's stance. As you mentioned, the case with the Panchen Lama recognised by China is now accepted by the Dalai Lama as the real one. And he had also changed his tune to that China is good for the growth of Tibet and he wants to go back under China's rule. I certainly won't be surprised if the Dalai Lama changes his words again to accept Dorje Shugden as enlightened and declares his practice as beneficial for us. I do wonder if the Dalai Lama declares the DS ban as lifted and if he does goes back Tibet, would all the eminent Lamas go back to Tibet too? It would be like everything falling back into place after the great upheavel. Would it still be the grand Tibet with its many Masters and scholars untainted. Wishful thinking...
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As obstinate as the Dalai Lama may be he must also know that the times have changed. When the Shamar Rinpoche approached the Dalai Lama in the video, the Tibetan cause was still somewhat relevant, the United States of America was still backing the Dalai Lama's exile government, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and India was still playing hardball with China.
Today there are far pressing issues that dominate the minds of world leaders, the Tibetans are facing an increasingly impatient Indian nation and this is not to mention all the scandals involving the Dalai Lama's inner sanctum and also vital considerations such as trade with China. The bottom line is, the Dalai Lama is operating under very different circumstances today. Hence you see a softening of his stance and some hints of a wish for reconciliation with China, for e.g. recognising the Chinese Panchen Lama as the 'official' one; telling the Tibetan people that it is shortsighted to regard China as an enemy; making statements that division based on province, religious sect and political stance harms unity. In short it is a very different Dalai Lama that furiously demanded that the monasteries expel monks still worshipping Dorje Shugden.
In any case, there are laws in certain parts of China that prohibits anyone from creating problems using the Dorje Shugden issue. So the CTA and Dalai Lama can say what they like but of the Dalai Lama genuinely wishes to return to Tibet, then he has to drop his Dorje Shugden ban.
This post raises another thought i.e. that the perhaps the
Tibetan people in general, leaders of the Kagyu, Sakya and Nyingma can take the initiative to repair the damage inflicted by the CTA's ban, on their own. Recently the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley and the Karmapa Thaye Dorje met and decided to mend the division in the Karma Kagyu created by Tai Situ Rinpoche the Dalai Lama.
It is not known if that happened with the Dalai Lama's authority or not but there are many upsides. If it was the Dalai Lama's doing, then it would appear that he is moving to reinstate Tibetan harmony and will likewise abolish the Shugden ban. If the two Karmapas met without the Dalai Lama and CTA's consent, it would mean that
Tibetan leaders are now making decisions independently of the Dalai Lama and CTA. For the reasons briefly discussed above, there is a good chance for the SHugden ban to fall. Personally I think it will fall because the force that has been upholding it is weakening fast.
The two Karmapas met to repair the damage created by the Dalai Lama's unauthorised interference in Karma Kagyu affairs. This is in direct contravention to the CTA's 'Divide-And-Rule' policy.
Joint statement by the two Karmapas.
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I agree. The meeting of the 2 Karmapas is a huge slap on CTA's face. Last time, a decision like this has to get approval from the CTA before it can be carried out. The meeting of the 2 Karmapas are not informed to CTA prior to the occasion and it is destroying CTA's evil plan to divide Karma Kagyu's disciple and followers for their own selfish reasons.
It is true that from this event we can see that Tibetans now have the ability to do what they want now. Perhaps maybe it can be applied to Dorje Shugden ban as well? If the High Lamas come together and say that they will no longer recognise Dorje Shugden as an evil spirit and therefore they will remove the Dorje Shugden ban. It is possible that this will work since the influence of CTA is now waning.
Tibetans should start to take their future into their own hands now and stop waiting for CTA to dictate things to them. They need to take charge and that is what CTA feared the most. They are able to do all the nasty things they did because Tibetans just let CTA do whatever to them and they just went along with it. If only they really think about it and use their common sense to think about the logic before agreeing to anything that CTA does.
